“And going forward, some of you may decide that my FISA position is a deal breaker. That’s ok.”  (Barack Obama in July 3 letter to anti-FISA supporters)

This not about hurt feelings or weak character or losing votes.  It is about failure.  It is about our joint project to change America.  That is what Obama’s reversal on FISA will break.

Patriotism has devolved into a predominantly right hemisphere brain function; it has become something we are to "feel" – instead of preserve. Modern "patriotic" hyperbole has distorted the meaning of the word as intended by our founding fathers. They cautioned us repeatedly that we must be forever vigilant to maintain our freedom. Thomas Paine explained that "It is the duty of the patriot to protect his country from its government."

If we are sincere in wanting freedom and independence, we must as a nation, re-activate the patriotic left hemisphere of our brain. Critical analysis of our current Government and financial institutions is needed because both have become vile and aggressive predators against our freedom and prosperity – and they are winning.

I hope you take the time to read this diary today, the Fourth of July. And I hope you celebrate the Fourth of July by enjoying illegal fireworks (safely!) in an act of defiance – a true and appropriate patriotic gesture.

I know, you're disappointed to miss out on another thrillingly breathless tome on FISA and how We! All! Must! Do! Something! Now!

While you were reading the last 40 FISA diaries, something else happened which people should note.

http://legalschnauzer.blogspot.com/

email: rshuler3156@gmail.com

A transplanted Midwesterner puts down roots in Alabama and helps show how "loyal Bushies" have corrupted our justice system.

I spend a lot of time on the internet these days, perusing the various articles regarding the election in blogs, newspapers, and magazines. They discuss polls, they weigh statements, they play neutrality or sometimes forthright partisanship. They provide real information, for those who can parse it, that educates and enlightens us about not only the election, but the entire political process, as the lens on our government becomes increasingly large during presidential election years.

Over the past 8 years, we have heard so many times from the Bush administration that "these documents are classified" or "we are exerting executive privilege".

Well Barack takes office he will presumably have access to all of these documents.

So here's the question: Will Barack release these documents that Bush withheld? Would that action lead to the prosecution of Bush officials? Would it be productive to chase down the corrupt officials or would that just be looking back instead of looking forward?

Will Bush destroy the documents before Barack takes office?

Not content to let the House have all the action, Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), chairman of the Judiciary Committee, Friday launched a probe of the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention’s (OJJDP) alleged political grantmaking, Youth Today reported Friday.

The D.C.-based newspaper’s ongoing coverage of the story, in which OJJDP Administrator J. Robert Flores has had to answer for several suspicious moves in awarding precious juvenile justice funds — including that he helped politically connected money seekers over more qualified applicants and even allowed proposal submissions to arrive after the deadline — prompted the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform to call Flores before its panel 10 days ago.

More after the jump.

http://legalschnauzer.blogspot.com/

email: rshuler3156@gmail.com

A transplanted Midwesterner puts down roots in Alabama and helps show how "loyal Bushies" have corrupted our justice system.

I'm not even sure this story is worth a diary entry, but I'm awake and there's not much going on, so here goes.

"Grampy" John S. McCain, where are you?  Billions of taxpayer dollars have been mis-managed in the last six years.  A pork-barrel spending project of epic proportions has sent money flowing out the door, with no benefit to our country.  Why have you not taken the "Straight Talk Express" and exposed this terrible mess, "Maverick" John McCain?  I'm just askin'.

here is part two

Here is a terrible and tragic tale of corruption, child abuse and sham peer review.

Website: http://legalschnauzer.blogspot.com/

Email: rshuler3156@gmail.com

Bio: I'm a transplanted Midwesterner who has lived in Alabama 30 years. Karl Rove built his national reputation on state-court races in Alabama, and I've seen firsthand the havoc that "King Karl's" conservative judges have wreaked on our justice system.

Surprise surprise surprise...the administration that will sink below any expectation politicized hiring "many qualified candidates" because of "perceived liberal bias".

The TRUTH versus The Associated Press and Controlled Mainstream Media

In this article, I lay out how the Mainstream Media is carefully controlled. The control is so pervasive that an entire article will contain made up quotes from real people saying things that they would never ever say.

There has been some debate here in the last few days in defense of, and offended by the house vote on FISA and the support of our presumptive nominee of the FISA "compromise".

We all know that politics is not a sport of purity.  Well, except for Dennis Kucinich I guess.  That being the point though.  Issue purists don't usually get elected and without being willing to compromise don't usually get much done.  Most of us are happy to accept pragmatic compromises by our politicians.  The question in regards to FISA is, "Was it pragmatic?".

And so it has come to this: The bipartisan consensus that the Constitution is negotiable.

We now make pragmatic decisions on when it should and should not apply to those who hold power in the name of the people...or act on the behalf of the powerful as a few corporations have done in the past several years.

And we now applaud it when our leaders qualify when the laws apply to some and not to others, starting with themselves.

You dared promise good leadership in the name of the American people. You have failed us, have moved us onto a fast track to more certain and unambiguous failure.

So be it. See what you have sown, and what you shall reap.

It was front-page news when General Manuel Noreiga of Panama was linked to the Cocaine trade. Hell it's page one news when university students get busted for dope. But what happens when a dozen or more "Gringo Noreigas" get caught up in the drug business. As one might expect when it comes to our own governments drug dealing shenanigans media coverage is almost always suppressed or buried on page 20.

In case anyone here needs a reminder of why we DO need campaign finance reform, I present a brief statistical analysis of the relationship between telecom industry campaign contributions and the way Democrats in the House voted on the FISA "compromise" yesterday.